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Firaxis Games and 2K have released a demo for Firaxis’ grand strategy game Sid Meier’s Civilization VI. This demo imposes some heavy restrictions that nevertheless show off what the game is all about.

You’ll have the option to play as Qin Shi Huang on a fixed map with America, Egypt and Sumeria. You will also have the option to play the Civilization VI tutorial, which features Sumeria and Egypt. Both options are locked at 60 turns, and once you’ve reached the conclusion of the demo you will have the option to purchase Civilization VI or you can play the demo or the tutorial again. There is no limit to how many times you can play the demo.

60 turns is a relatively low number of turns for a game like Civilization VI, a game that is notorious for greedily stealing away more hours than most would like to admit.

If you’re interested in giving the demo a go, you can go here to download the free demo (the button to download the demo is to the right of the screen under the user review section). Firaxis’ also posted a handy guide on their website to help you get started.

As if that wasn’t enough, 2K are holding a sale that includes the Civilization franchise. The regular digital version has gotten a 20% discount, bringing the grand total to $47.99. The Digital Deluxe version of the game has gotten a 25% discount, bringing the price down to $59.99. The Digital Deluxe edition has the base game, Civilization VI‘s excellent soundtrack, and access to 4 -post-release DLC packs that add in new leaders and maps. If you want it at a greater discount, Bundlestars right now has the Digital Deluxe version on sale for 38% off (affiliate link).

The demo is live right now for Windows PC users. Linux may get their own demo at some point, but Firaxis’ hasn’t mentioned it yet.

Quick Take

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is just as addictive, if not more addictive, than previous entries into the series. The sixth game in the franchise introduces some heavily reworked features that change the way you build cities, and the new art style looks rather wonderful as well. I’ve managed to pump over 100 hours into the game already so I might be biased, but I think Civ VI is the best installment in the series even with the laughably bad AI and balance issues. The game also has Steam Workshop support now so fans have been uploading their (often useful) mods to the Workshop for you to try.

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I've been playing games since I was just barely able to walk, and I never really stopped playing them. When I'm not fulfilling my duties as senior staff writer and tech reviewer, I'm either working on music, producing one of two podcasts or doing freelance work.